RWBY: The Azul Oscuro Chronicles
by giantrobby
Summary: Beacon has fallen, the Kingdom of Vale is set ablaze, but from the ashes rises Azul Oscuro. Will this threat be too much to handle for our heroes? Read and find out!
1. Preface

Warning: The Following is a fan-based addition to an existing franchise. RWBY and all the characters introduced prior to this installment are owned and created by Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth. Thank you for reading and enjoy the story.

PS. Please don't sue me.

RWBY: The Azul Oscuro Chronicles

A Fan-fiction by Robert Weniger

Preface:

Aura. The manifestation of one's soul. The life force that flows through all living beings. Aura can be utilized in many ways, from inflicting the direst wounds to having the ability to heal them. And most of the time, Aura can also be manifested in a very unique way to create a very special ability to define one's soul: A Semblance. Since the beginning of time, Semblances have been used in many ways. It's been used to create, it's been used to destroy. Some semblances have the ability to better the bearer of the soul; such as enhanced combat, extreme agility, even a unique few who can use their semblance to amplify their aura. However, in this vast world of soul-bearers and Grimm alike, there has only been one being with a semblance so unique, so powerful, that the world had elected to cast him into the darkest Wasteland farthest from Remnant for the protection of the world. This young child, despite his kind heart and gentle soul, had displayed the most dangerous semblance in existence: The ability to drain others of their own aura. And in the eyes of the government, this young boy was a massive threat to the kingdom. For their enemies, however, this powerful semblance was seen not as a curse, but as a weapon for them.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One: An Obscure Arrival

The ground was cold on the edge of the kingdom of Vale. The brisk autumn breeze blew its way through the kingdom as it did every day, with the leaves fluttering in the wind across the kingdom. The kingdom had fallen quiet in the past three days, mourning after a disaster in the capitol city of Vale. The fall of Beacon had shaken the entire world, but nobody had felt the pain quite like the people of Vale themselves. In this eve, the now-silent and isolated kingdom was about to receive a visitor who had the potential of breaking the grieving silence that befell the kingdom.

At the edge of the City of Vale stood a cloaked individual. This man stood and stared into the distance, looking upon the remnants of what had once been a beautiful city. He looked at the houses that had caved in, the businesses that were decimated, the crashed airships still barely ablaze on the ground. Most importantly, he looked upon the crumbling tower at the center of the devastated city, and stared intently at the light that was shining brightly atop the tower.

The cloaked man looked at the small shanties and tents in his immediate vicinity, observing the unfortunate villagers who lost their homes and loved ones in the past days. These were the people most affected by Vale's fall. He began walking down the road leading into the city, with his black cloak blowing in the wind behind him. He noticed the sky above him glowing red as dusk had begun to change the sky.

As the cloaked man walked down the road, he painfully noticed the funeral pyres burning at the side of the road, and he noticed the crisp black remains of Vale's citizens being burned as he passed by. The flames erupting from the pyres as a mourning old lady sadly looked at the body within the pyre, sitting on a wooden bench beside the fire. He noticed her tattered gray clothing, clearly she's been wearing them since the city fell.

The sound of the fire's crackling filled the air as the fires engorged in size and brightness. He saw the body's face, and noticed how young he was.

 _He must've been a huntsman,_ the cloaked man said. _Should I console her?_

After spending about twenty seconds thinking, he decided to talk to her. He walked to her and took a seat on the bench beside her. The sunken elderly lady slowly looked up to him, and he immediately noticed how faded her eyes were. Her skin was wrinkled and cracked all around her face, clearly a result of the chaos from the Fall of Vale. He looked into her deep violet eyes and removed his hood. He moved the locks of his long brown hair away from is face, revealing his own indigo eyes staring back into hers.

"Was he family?" the stranger asked. She nodded and looked back at the fire.

"Your son?" he asked. She nodded again.

I am deeply sorry for your loss, miss," he said to her. "It's terrible that we are all witnessing this tragedy firsthand. It was not his time, nor anybody's who passed here this week."

As he began to stand up, the elderly woman lunged and grabbed his hand. She looked back up at him, having deep sorrow pasted across her face.

"Who have you lost?" She asked sincerely. He looked down at her.

"Myself," he said.

"And who are you?" She asked.

He turned around and took her hand.

"My name is Azul Oscuro," he said as he helped her sit back on the bench. She looked up at him, her eyes now the same shade as his, and she began falling asleep. "You should rest now, something tells me you need it."

Without another word, the elderly lady closed her eyes and laid down on the bench. Azul looked down on her one more time, then continued his journey down the path into the city.

Elsewhere, Qrow Branwen was looking upon the city from a window in his study. He turned around and looked at his red oak desk with multiple empty bottles littered across it. The desk had stains from spills and wear over many years. The walls surrounding Qrow's study were a deep burgundy and were decorated with many pictures of his family, friends, and students. Right above the door was a photograph of him and his best friend, Taiyang Xiao Long, as they were hired as teachers at Signal Academy. The smiles on their faces would be unrecognizable as they both had aged so much over the years. The only picture on Qrow's desk, which he kept safe from the mountain of bottles, was a picture of Summer and a very young Ruby in her arms.

Qrow reached under his desk and grabbed another unmarked bottle. He unscrewed the lid and took a massive sip straight from the bottle. As the bottle left Qrow's lips, he hears somebody knocking on the door.

"Who is it?" Qrow drunkenly slurred.

"Without answering the question, the door swunk open and General James Ironwood entered the room.

"Qrow, we really need to talk." Ironwood said.

"Then talk," Qrow said as he leaned on his desk.

"I just got back from Atlas. All of my students made it home safely."

"Not all of them," Qrow remarked, pointing to the giant coliseum still hovering above the debris of Beacon Academy. "You lost one in that tragic accident at the Vytal Festival, James."

"A mistake we will not be making again," Ironwood responded.

"Are you sure about that?" Qrow asked, raising the bottle to his lips again. Qrow took another sip as Ironwood speechlessly watched. Qrow noticed Ironwood's stare and held out the bottle as an offering. Ironwood stared for another moment, then took the bottle from Qrow's outstretched hand.

"You didn't answer my question," Qrow pointed out as Ironwood drank from the bottle.

"After what happened, I'm honestly not sure anymore," Ironwood said, and handed the bottle back to Qrow. "When Penny was first built, I didn't think to consider her a person. I was arrogantly thinking of her simply as a state-of-the-art model of my automated collective. What she didn't realize was that her soul wasn't created like she was. She didn't know her soul came from a living, breathing girl much like her."

A tear slid down Ironwood's face as he spoke. Qrow listened intently as Ironwood continued speaking.

"I don't know what happened. Even seeing it repeatedly, I don't know how it happened. Miss Nikos definitely wasn't herself. I've seen her fight before, and her match with Penny was definitely not as coordinated and precise as her other matches went."

Qrow took another drink and walked over to Ironwood.

"I don't mean to sound like an ass, James, but I think we both already know the answer."

"Qrow, please!" Ironwood lashed.

"James, it was one thing to tell this young woman that she was part of some ancient legend. We didn't have to take her to the basement level and tell her that we wanted to cram someone else's soul into her body. Doing it with Penny was one thing; you were transferring a dying girl's soul into a mechanical body to save her. What we were going to do to Miss Nikos was nothing short of barbaric."

"It was the only way, Qrow! We needed to make sure Amber's powers wouldn't be inherited by her attacker when she died!"

"We could've waited until we had her answer! She was sloppy because she was distracted by how important she had just become! The grimm came because she wasn't herself. It's because you insisted we show her Amber that we not only lost Amber and Pyrrha, but also cost you the very reason you built that damn machine in the first place!"

Ironwood slammed his fists on Qrow's desk, knocking a couple bottles over and causing them to shatter on the ground. Before Ironwood and Qrow could react, the bottles suddenly repaired themselves and flew back onto the desk. Ironwood and Qrow turned and saw Glynda Goodwitch standing in the door, pointing her riding crop at the desk.

"If you boys are done arguing, there's something you're going to need to hear," Glynda said.

Azul continued down the road leading to Beacon. He had reached the city's border and found himself surrounded by dark buildings, all of which were empty and abandoned. Azul slowed down to take his time looking at the buildings.

It was clear that he was not in the ground zero yet. This part of Vale was clearly just overrun by Grimm and forced the residents to evacuate.

Azul started walking into an alleyway between two of the abandoned store fronts. When he got halfway down the alley, Azul saw a shadow shifting from the other end.

 _Am I being followed?_ Azul thought to himself.

Azul began walking toward the end of the alley, where he saw the shadow. As he reached the end, he was met by a man holding a gun at him.

"That's close enough," the man said.

Azul quickly assessed the man. He was wearing black cargo pants and a dark gray jacket over a navy-blue shirt. His hands were covered by thick black gloves. Azul looked him in the eye and saw his deep green eyes shifting from his hand to Azul's chest. His short black hair had a gray stripe running across his scalp.

"Can I help you with something, pal?" Azul asked.

"Depends, why are you walking around this area so close to dusk?" the stranger with the gun asked.

"I'm investigating," Azul replied.

"So, you're a huntsman?" asked the stranger.

"No, but I _am_ here on a mission. I need to get to Beacon."

"You're insane. Do you realize how hard it is to even reach Beacon? There's checkpoints all over the place."

"Didn't seem so hard to me," Azul said.

"It will soon. You can only get so far by strutting down the road out in the open."

"So you've been watching me?" Azul asked.

"Wouldn't say _watching_ you. I'd rather say I just knew you were here."

"Yes, that's called stalking."

"Call it whatever you want, but I think I have a right to get some answers."

"You first," Azul said. " _You're_ the one following _me_."

Without lowering his gun, the strange men looked down in conflict, then looked back at Azul.

"I assure you, I'm not here to cause trouble," Azul said, " I'm simply here on a personal errand to retrieve somebody and bring her home."

"Alright, I'll hear you out," the stranger said as he lowered his gun.

"My name is Gris Gale," the stranger said. "I'm just trying to find somebody too."

"I presume it's your family?" Azul asked.

"My daughter," Gris said, "We got separated during the evacuation. We tried to stay together, but it was far too chaotic. When the crowds were swarming, we just couldn't stay close. They pushed us apart. Then, the shooting started."

"The shooting?" Azul asked.

"As if things weren't panicked enough, the knights began shooting at us. It's like they started seeing us as threats because of how chaotic it was. They started mistaking us for Grimm."

"How long were you searching for her?" Azul asked.

"Ever since the night the Tower fell."

Azul looked at Gris in concern.

"That's… that's three days," Azul pointed out. Gris looked down again.

"I know," Gris replied.

"Does she know how to fight Grimm?" Azul asked.

"She's still a student at Signal, but she's top of her class."

"Then she's probably looking for you too."

"I know she is," Gris said.

"Will you help me?" Gris asked.

"I would, but I have my own retrieval to attend to. I'm truly sorry, but I don't have time to turn over rocks."

Azul turned and began walking away.

"You need to find a safe way to the tower," Gris said. Azul turned around.

"Like I said, there's security all over the city. They locked down an entire two-mile radius around Beacon."

"How do you know this?" Azul asked.

"I've been paying very close attention to everything going on in the city."

"To find any info on your daughter, correct?"

Azul asked.

"Exactly," Gris replied.

"I think I'll be fine," Azul said, and started walking again.

"There's huntsmen inside the barriers," Gris yelled, causing Azul to stop and turn around again.

"Beacon Tower is being defended by Huntsmen, and the entire area surrounding it. I don't care who you are, you don't stand a chance against twenty huntsmen at once."

Azul sighed and looked directly at Gris.

"I'm not saying we turn over rocks or look at footprints," Gris began before Azul put his hand up.

"Okay, fine. If you know a better way to get to Beacon Tower, then show me," Azul said, "Then after I we make it, I'll help you find your daughter."

"Thank you," Gris said, his face becoming overridden with gratitude.

"I just hope you've prepared yourself in case worst-case scenario happened," Azul whispered.

Gris and Azul began walking back down the alleyway and disappeared into the night as a shroud of black fog began rising from the sewers under the buildings.

"You think we might have an intruder?" Qrow asked, still holding his bottle in his hand.

Glynda looked at him sternly.

"What?" Qrow asked her, noticing her stare.

"I thought we were going to prepare for this," Glynda said. "I thought you were going to set up checkpoints all around the city."

"I did," Qrow replied as he took a drink of his bottle.

"Around the borders?" Glynda asked. Qrow opened his eyes widely and slowly lowered the bottle. Ironwood's head slowly turned back to Qrow.

"Qrow," Ironwood began, "You _did_ post checkpoints at the borders as well, didn't you?"

Qrow sheepishly shifted his sight between Glynda and Ironwood. After staring into Ironwood's deathly glare then back to Glynda's, Qrow took another drink of his bottle.

"Qrow!" Glynda yelled, knocking the bottle out of Qrow's hand and watching it shatter over the floor.

"That wasn't cheap," Qrow said.

"And I'm not going to fix it," Glynda said as she angrily approached Qrow. "You've been drunk ever since you returned from Patch two days ago. You're the one who's supposed to watch over this city until we find Ozpin."

Qrow's surly leer toward Glynda suddenly disappeared.

"Where did you post these checkpoints of yours if not around the city?" Ironwood asked.

"I posted them around the crash zone," Qrow replied.

"Why just there?" Ironwood asked.

"We don't have nearly enough battle-ready people left to patrol the borders of an entire city," Qrow said. "The city's just too big to patrol without having communication."

"You should've closed the border the moment we evacuated the city!" Ironwood scolded.

"Do you ever _not_ feel threatened by everything, James?" Qrow asked.

"We can never be too careful," Ironwood said.

"Not everybody's a threat," Qrow continued, "Most of the people left here are people who didn't want to leave their homes, or wish to assist us in restoring the city."

"How can you be so careless?" Ironwood asked, "There can still be a threat in the city right now. You and I both know that _she_ is going to be sending somebody to see if we're expecting them to try again."

"And if she does send someone, they won't make it past the checkpoint. They won't be able to find out much without looking at their handiwork up close."

Ironwood looked at Qrow, wearing a defeated scowl on his face.

"I suppose you have a point," Ironwood told Qrow.

"Hey buddy, I'm not as stupid as you think I am," Qrow said as he turned toward the corner and looked at a towel.

"So how long do you think it will be before someone _does_ show up?" Ironwood asked as Qrow grabbed a towel and a broom.

"I'm pretty sure they're already here," Qrow said. "They might be biding their time or trying to see weaknesses in our defense, but I'm sure they're already here."

Qrow threw the towel down on the ground, shooting Glynda an angry look as he used his foot to move the towel around and soak up the booze.

"I think we may need more people, though," Qrow said.

"What do you suggest?" Glynda asked. Qrow pointed to Ironwood.

"Do you have any soldiers with you?" Qrow asked.

"I never travel without some," Ironwood replied.

"I _did_ say people," Qrow sardonically said.

"Yes, people," Ironwood said, "I don't plan on using the automated drones again until I know the system is flawless"

"Would you be able to deploy a few units to the crash area to keep an eye out for any intruders?" Qrow replied.

"I can spare a few," Ironwood said.

"Great, then I hope we won't have to use them," Qrow replied, looking back at Beacon Tower through his window. "We've lost too many people already."


End file.
